‘The Mummy’ Reboot Will Be Directed by Alex Kurtzman

We've known for a while that Universal has been planning a reboot of 'The Mummy,' but the studio has struggled to find a director for the project, which will kick off a new era of their classic monsters. Alex Kurtzman, who recently parted ways with longtime writing partner Bob Orci, and who is helping Universal bring those famous monsters back to life, has now been tapped to direct the 'Mummy' reboot.

Variety reports that Universal has selected Kurtzman to direct their reboot of 'The Mummy' franchise, which will have nothing to do with the Brendan Fraser films, and will instead be set in modern day -- as will the rest of the films in their massive rebooting of the classic monsters, presumably including the likes of Frankenstein, The Wolfman, and Dracula. The studio hopes to create a shared universe of films, akin to the Marvel movie universe.

Kurtzman will direct the film from a script by Jon Spaihts, who also penned the script for 'Prometheus.' As previously reported, the director and 'Fast and Furious' writer Chris Morgan are also heavily involved with Universal's entire classic monster franchise reboot, although it's unclear if Kurtzman will direct any of the other films at this time.

Kurtzman is also writing the screenplay for 'The Amazing Spider-Man 3,' which has been delayed until 2018, and writing and directing Sony's upcoming 'Venom' spinoff film.